Xiaomi’s current smartphones, which are powered by MIUI shells or the new HyperOS, offer users a wide range of personalization options. One of the most noticeable visual changes that can make communication more convenient and enjoyable is to install a full-screen image on an incoming call. It’s not just an aesthetic step, but a functional one: you can see who’s calling you right away, even if the phone is on the table with the screen up or at some distance.
But standard settings often hide this option or make it less obvious. Many users find that when you add a photo to your contacts, you only see a small round avatar or a standard stub when you call, and this is due to the way the contact system works and the limitations that the Android version imposes. In this article, we will go through all the nuances to solve this problem.
The setup process can vary depending on the firmware version and the call app used.We'll look at both the regular facilities and proven third-party solutions that are guaranteed to work on Redmi, POCO and Xiaomi devices. Get ready to turn a boring call screen into a personalized gallery.
Image requirements and file preparation
Xiaomi’s system algorithms are quite demanding of the parameters of media files used as the caller’s wallpaper. If the image is too small or has an unsupported format, the system will simply ignore it or trim it beyond recognition, leaving only the central part.
The best solution is to use high-resolution vertical photos. Because modern smartphones have elongated screens with an aspect ratio of 19:9 or 20:9, horizontal shots will have to be heavily cropped, which often leads to the loss of important details.
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Use images with a resolution of at least 1080×2400 pixels for perfect display on high-pixel density screens.
The file format also matters. Although it supports many formats, the most stable are classic JPG and PNG. If you plan to use animated images (although this is rarely supported), you will need a GIF format, but in this case we focus on a static but high-quality picture. Make sure that the file is not protected by DRM rights and is in an accessible folder of memory.
- 📸 Choose vertical photos with the resolution corresponding to the screen of your smartphone.
- 🎨 Prefer contrasting images that read well in bright lighting.
- 📂 Save the photo in format JPG or PNG for maximum compatibility.
- ✂️ Cut the extra edges in advance, leaving the focus on the subscriber's face.
Standard method through the Contacts app
The most obvious but often malfunctioning way is to use the built-in Contacts app. In pure Android and some MIUI builds, this method works perfectly, allowing you to assign a photo that will stretch to the full screen. However, in global versions of Xiaomi firmware, the algorithm may differ.
To start, open the Contacts app and find the subscriber in the list. Click on their name to go to the detailed card. Here you will see the edit button, often represented as a pencil or three dots in the corner of the screen, and it is inside the edit menu that the feature is hidden.
Click on the camera icon or the current profile image. The system will suggest selecting a photo from the gallery. Once you select the image, you will be asked to fram it. Importantly, the standard Xiaomi editor often does not have a clear full-screen button, so try to scale so that the face is centered and the edges fill the space. After saving, the system must apply changes.
☑️ Checking the standard setting
But there's a caveat: If you only see a small circle after you set up a photo when you call in, then your launcher or theme is blocking the full-screen display, and then you need to move on to more advanced customization methods, which I'll talk about later. The standard method is good for its simplicity, but it's not always effective.
Use Google Contacts for Synchronization
Often the problem is not with the phone itself, but with the desynchronization of data between the local memory and the cloud account. Google Contacts is the system standard for Android and often takes precedence over local settings Xiaomi. Using this tool allows you to link a photo to an account, which ensures it is displayed on any device.
Open the Google Contacts app (a human color silhouette icon). Find the right contact and click Change. At the top of the screen, there will be a camera icon. When you add a photo through this interface, it automatically optimizes to Google standards, which often helps bypass the limitations of the MIUI shell.
After uploading, wait until the sync is complete, which is critical, because background sync can take a few minutes, check the status in your Google account settings, and if the photo appears in the web version of contacts, it will soon appear on your phone.
| Parameter | Local contact | Google Contact | SIM-map |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photo quality | High. | High. | Low/Not present |
| Synchronization | No. | Automatic. | No. |
| Full-screen display | Depends on the topic. | Often works better. | Impossible. |
| Risk of data loss | High on discharge | Low. | Medium. |
⚠️ Note: Contacts saved directly to SIM-The card does not technically support high-resolution photo storage, unless your contact is saved on the SIM, The full-screen photo function won't work. Move the contact to your phone memory or Google account.
Configure via third-party applications (True Phone and analogues)
If Xiaomi’s regular funds stubbornly refuse to show photos to the full screen, the most effective solution is to install a specialized application for calling, which has been the leader in this niche for many years, True Phone Dialer & Contacts, which completely replaces the standard “bell ringer” and contact interface, providing advanced management capabilities.
Once you install True Phone, you need to give the app all the permissions you want, including access to contacts, phone and, importantly, the right to display on top of other windows. Without the last item, full screen mode may not be activated when you call. In the app settings, go to Appearance or Style.
Here you'll find the call screen style option, choose Full Screen Photo or the same, and the app allows you not only to stretch the photo, but also to apply different background blur effects, change the location of response buttons, and add conversation recording buttons directly to the screen.
Why is True Phone Better than Standard?
Another advantage is that you can configure different actions for different contacts, so you can have a full-screen photo only for a select few, or you can have a full-screen photo for everyone except hidden numbers, which gives you flexibility that you don't have in the basic firmware.
- 📞 Complete replacement of dialing interface and call log.
- 🖼️ Guaranteed display of the photo on the full screen without cropping.
- ⚙️ Deep customization: colors, fonts, arrangement of elements.
- 🔒 Additional privacy and spam blocking features.
The Impact of MIUI and HyperOS Design Themes
One of the most common reasons why a contact photo doesn’t stretch is because of the themes that are installed. In the Xiaomi ecosystem, themes are not just a set of icons, but a complex file that changes system resources, including the use of a single file. XML-If the theme is created poorly or specifically limits functionality, the photo will only be displayed in the designated round window.
To check if the theme is causing the problem, switch to a standard Classic or Default theme temporarily, and you can do this in the Themes app by going to the user profile. If the photo of the contact started occupying the entire screen after the topic change, then the problem was in the design of the previous theme.
Some lightweight or custom themes can force you to include mini avatars to save resources or just as the author intended. In such cases, you have two ways: to accept a small photo or edit a topic. MT Manager, but requires skills to work with APK-Files and resources resources resources.arsc.
It’s also worth noting that in the new versions of HyperOS, Xiaomi has begun to implement stricter rules for themes in the official store, which means that downloading themes from third-party, unverified sources can lead to conflicts in the display of system elements, including the lock screen and call.
Solving cache problems and resetting settings
Sometimes all the settings are correct, the theme is standard, but the photo still does not display correctly. In such cases, the culprit is often a sprawling or corrupted application cache, and the system can "remember" the old version of the contact without a photo or thumbnail and upload it, ignoring new changes.
To clear the cache, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find Contacts, Phone and, if used, Google Play Services. Inside each app, select Memory and click Clear Cache. Don't confuse it with data cleanup, although it's safe for contacts if you have cloud sync.
Once the cache is cleaned, it is recommended that you restart the device, which will allow the system to re-index the media files and reassemble the contact database, and if the problem persisted due to a software failure, it should disappear.
⚠️ Note: Before clearing the data (not the cache, but the data) of the Contacts app, make sure your numbers are saved to a Google or Mi Cloud account.
In rare cases, removing a contact and re-creating it helps, with the old contact with the glucose photo removed completely and the new one created with clean attributes, a radical but often effective method of combating software errors in the SQLite database that stores contacts.
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Comprehensive cache cleaning of system applications related to telephony solves 90% of problems with incorrect display of interface graphics.